Big I New York brought together the independent agency community at Go Big 2019. This sold out event featured sessions on agency valuation and cybersecurity, a panel of carrier leaders, and an industry marketplace. Five key takeaways were pulled to share from this insightful day.
“The report we received today illustrates that New York’s life insurance companies are an economic pillar of New York,” said Mary A. Griffin, President and CEO of LICONY. “The state’s life industry offers valuable protections, invests in infrastructure and is a major employer. Despite these contributions, some of the data shows a lack of growth in the industry in the last 15 years. We urge policymakers to work with New York’s life industry to foster new growth and help us offer valuable life products in ways that appeal to the modern consumer.”
An eye-opening OPTIS Data announcement reports 151 announced insurance agency mergers and acquisitions during the first quarter of 2019, i.e. one more deal than was announced in Q1 2018.The data covers U.S. and Canadian agencies selling primarily property-and-casualty insurance, agencies selling both P&C and employee benefits, and those selling only employee benefits. The report breaks down buyers into four groups: private equity-backed/hybrid brokers, privately held brokers, publicly held brokers, and all others.
Based on a survey of 811 drivers who use recreational marijuana in 10 recreational states and Washington D.C.
More drivers than ever are grappling with decisions about when it is — and isn’t — OK to drive after consuming marijuana, which is now legal for adults to use recreationally in 10 states and Washington, D.C.Laws and best practices for drivers who drink alcohol have been established by decades of science, but research on the effects of marijuana on driving is far more limited.
Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation Releases Millennial Ideas Summit White Paper. We prefer “Giving Forth” to “Giving back,” although they mean the same thing, charitable contribution by insurers to our society’s well-being in this case.
The cannabis business continues to expand throughout the United States with 33 states that allow some use of medical cannabis, 10 states that allow adult use of cannabis and most others that allow for limited medical use of CBD (cannabidiol). In fact, only four states bar the use of all cannabis products. While the federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA) continues to identify cannabis as a Schedule I drug, the Obama and Trump administrations have ushered in an era that provides some assurance to the cannabis industry that personal use of marijuana and operation of state-regulated cannabis businesses will not be the targets of federal prosecution. In turn, the expansion of the legal cannabis industry requires that it be able to manage risk through insurance for property and liability losses.
116th Congress Tries Healthcare Cures as Rhetorical Fever Soars
The 116th Congress has rolled out new health care legislation. The Republicans squandered their chance to repeal the ACA or otherwise bring medical care back into the hands of patients and physicians. One could look at the push for Medicare for All as an acknowledgement that the ACA was not a success. The House Medicare for All caucus is in the process of revising the prior Medicare for All bill that had been floating around since 2003. Apparently, the new bill will track Bernie Sanders’ Senate bill, S. 1804 which is more fleshed out.
Some Facts:
– It costs 9 to 11 times more to recruit a new customer than to keep an existing one.
– An increase in loyalty of only 7% can lift lifetime profits per customer by as much as 85%.
– Often, an increase in loyalty of just 3% is equivalent to a 10% across-the-board cost reduction program.
– Brand Keys’ 2019 Customer Loyalty Engagement Index Notes “Lasting Loyalties”Brand Keys 24th annual Customer Loyalty Engagement Index (CLEI), conducted by the New York-based brand engagement and customer loyalty research consultancy has identified “loyalty” as a profit-generator for brands that know how to create it and market it.
With the 2018 mid-term elections over, the Democratic Party leadership has indicated that the House Financial Services Committee will broadly focus its legislative agenda toward protecting consumers and investors, preserving financial sector stability, and encouraging responsible innovation in financial technology. Meanwhile, we expect that the Republican-controlled Senate will continue to focus its legislative agenda on remaining refinements not already addressed in the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (EGRRCPA) passed in 2018. Beyond the divided Congress, we note that the regulatory agencies are now all led by President Trump appointees who have discretion, subject to Congressional oversight, to calibrate their supervisory policies and programs.
We are surrounded by stuff that will outlast us. The house and the furniture will go to someone else when you’re gone, and because common ceramics are the man-made thing lasting the longest, that coffee mug that says “Grumpy Old Fart” will still be around in thousands of years. Chances are your vintage vehicle has already outlived at least one or two owners, and if those former caretakers of your slick machine could see the snot-nosed kid that has the keys now, do you think they would approve?
A Beacon International Group, Ltd. Member
